The Policy ThinkShop on Facebook: How do you think Healthcare Reform is working in New Jersey? What about the poorest and most vulnerable in these time of change?

New Jersey is reorganizing its healthcare system, including urban hospital that are vital to New Jersey’s poorest and most vulnerable. What do you think?

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For Athletes, Risks From Ibuprofen Use – NYTimes.com

News about pain killers and their ineffectiveness and the possible damage they to your body when taking often…  Managing the bodies symptoms with artificial chemicals does not seem logically good… Now studies prove the truism…  Consumer be ware!!!

 

“Many active people use the painkiller ibuprofen on an almost daily basis. In surveys, up to 70 percent of distance runners and other endurance athletes report that they down the pills before every workout or competition, viewing the drug as a preemptive strike against …”

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Study Raises Questions on Coating of Aspirin – NYTimes.com

The health journal, Circulation, published a study described in the NYTs as questioning prior studies (2003) stating that there are patients who were purportedly allergic to Aspirin.  The new study quoted and discussed in the NYTs questions prior knowledge and says that coated Aspirin, more expensive than regular Aspirin, is no more effective than the cheaper choice…

“While aspirin may prevent heart attacks and strokes, a commonly used coating to protect the stomach may obscure the benefits, leading doctors to prescribe more expensive prescription drugs, according to …”

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Stand-Up Desks Gaining Favor in the Workplace – NYTimes.com

Millions of Americans labor in an office chair most of their work day.  They may take a break or two and most take a lunch break between their a.m. and p.m. desk-bound sojourn.  To be sure, it’s no small stint at all.  In fact, it is also a huge part of their waking lives.  Between stress, lack of exercise and the unhealthy junk in the break-room snack machine, the health situation for most Americans is not good during their work day.  The NYTs article that follows, presents some interesting ideas for addressing the desk-bound work life condition that may be hurting so many …

“THE health studies that conclude that people should sit less, and get up and move around more, have always struck me as fitting into the “well, duh” category.

But a closer look at the accumulating research on sitting reveals something more intriguing, and disturbing: …”

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Human genomics: The new world of DNA | The Economist

Stuck in with the nasty weather outside?  Here is a nice read while you’re wondering what to do with your unexpected day off:  A thoughtful article to get you caught up on what is happening in genome research …

“WHEN John Keats read George Chapman’s translation of Homer he felt, in his elevated, poetical way, like …”

 

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The Long Battle to Rethink Mental Illness in Children – WSJ.com

Since infancy, Max Brown, 11, has flown into a rage at the smallest of slights, such as being told ‘no.’

Holed up in windowless hotel conference rooms near Washington, D.C., scientists have been busy rewriting the bible of American mental …

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Daily Multivitamin May Reduce Cancer Risk, Clinical Trial Finds – NYTimes.com

After a series of conflicting reports about whether vitamin pills can stave off chronic disease, researchers announced on Wednesday that a large clinical trial of nearly 15,000 older male doctors followed for more than a decade found that those …

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Kaiser’s Monthly Update on Health Disparities – Kaiser Family Foundation

A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the association between maternal education and the risk of preterm birth has changed over time.

According to the study, little research has considered how the relationship between social determinants of health and health outcomes may have changed over time. The study examined the influence of maternal education on risk of preterm birth (PTB) from 1989 to 2006. Using birth data compiled by the Michigan Department of Community Health, the study sampled 1,876,471 singleton births to women aged 22 years or older in the state. The primary health indicator was PTB, defined as birth at less than 37 gestational weeks. Maternal educational attainment was defined as less than 12 years of education and no GED, high school diploma or GED, or college degree or greater. The study also captured several other covariates: race (white or black), maternal age (22-35 and 36 years of age or older), and number of previous births (0, 1, or 2). The data set was stratified and births were analyzed by year of occurrence. PTB risk was calculated by year, stratified by maternal educational attainment, and regression models were used to calculate the relative risk of PTB. The researchers found that maternal education may be less protective against PTB now than in years past. The study found changes in the relationship between education and PTB risk over time, particularly for women with the highest levels of education. PTB risk increased over time for the most educated, but did not change for the least educated women—effectively narrowing the gap. Previous studies have documented narrowing disparities in PTB risk outside of the U.S., however there is no consensus regarding the changing relationship between these variables over time.

via Kaiser’s Monthly Update on Health Disparities – Kaiser Family Foundation.

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The Nobel prize for chemistry: Hitting the G-spot | The Economist

THE Nobel chemistry prize, as is now almost traditional, went for work that might equally have won one of the other two—in this case the prize for physiology. The laureates were Robert Lefkowitz of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Brian Kobilka of Stanford University, who between them laid the groundwork for the study of what are known as G-protein-coupled …

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6 tips to prevent neck, shoulder pain when using an iPad or computer — Harvard Health Publications – Harvard Health Publications

Hours spent using an iPad or other tablet can cause neck and shoulder problems. Blame it on the viewing angle. A simple shift can change everything, reports the October 2012 Harvard Health Letter.

Holding a tablet computer too low, say on the lap, forces the neck to bend forward too much, straining and possibly even injuring muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, or spinal discs. Simply placing a tablet on a table propped at an angle in a tablet case can reduce neck strain and potential pain, according to research conducted by Dr. Jack Dennerlein and his colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health.

One of the best things to do, no matter what kind of computer you are using, is take a break. “Change your position every 15 minutes,” says Dr. Dennerlein, an adjunct professor of ergonomics and safety at the Harvard School of Public Health. Other tips include:

When using an iPad or tablet:

Use a case that positions the device at a comfortable viewing angle

Take a break every 15 minutes

Routinely shift hands and weight; stand up if seated, or sit down if standing …

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Congress widens scrutiny of meningitis outbreak | Reuters

Lawmakers on Friday widened their investigation into the deadly meningitis outbreak to include the role state regulators played in monitoring the pharmacy that produced steroid treatments blamed for …

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The spread of disease: Germs and money | The Economist

ON OCTOBER 2nd a British traveller, flying home to Glasgow from Afghanistan, began to feel ill. Within hours he was diagnosed with Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, a virus nasty enough for him to be put onto a military transport aircraft for transfer to an isolation hospital in London. Less than 24 hours later he was dead.

This outbreak, on top of another death last month in Saudi Arabia from a previously unknown virus, a cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), has set global health agencies on …

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